Drinking Buddies
by Scarlet Eve
Summary: [One-Shot] "Dude, you should go talk to her tonight and tell her how you feel!" Duo said. Heero knew this idea would come from Duo. And to Heero's sluggish mind, it sort of seemed like a good idea. Sort of.


Drinking Buddies

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: I was too excited about this to wait to post it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Heero Yuy wasn't quite sure how he ended up in this situation. He supposed it had something to do with the urging and constant nagging of Duo Maxwell, the quiet pleading of Quatre Winner, or the angry demands by Wufei Chang. Trowa Barton said nothing, opting instead to just show up with that little smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye. Heero sometimes felt like he trusted Trowa the least, especially when he had that expression on his face.

However it happened, he was now sitting at a table in Duo's dining room, surrounded by the other Gundam pilots, playing a rigorous drinking game that only Duo seemed to know the rules for. And almost every action warranted a shot or a drink. There were already several empty vodka and tequila bottles on the counter, several half chewed lime rinds in the sink and a sticky layer of lime juice, spilled alcohol and salt on the surface of the table. Whenever Heero leaned forward, the skin of his arms stuck to the table top. The large part of him that demanded cleanliness and order worried that the sticky grime on the table was a build up over time, rather than the product of their one night of drinking. The thought made him cringe.

"Wufei! Your turn!" Duo shouted, having lost the ability to control the volume of his voice some time ago. Wufei leaned forward and picked up a card from the pile in the center of the table and flipped it over. An ace of clubs was revealed. "Waterfall!" Duo shouted. Heero recalled the previous ace that had turned up on the table. He glanced at Wufei, who'd pulled a beer towards him and began to drink. Quatre was next, and all around the table, each of them had to keep drinking until the person next to them stopped. Heero held the beer bottle to his lips, controlling the amount of liquid by keeping his lips pursed. He had a vague notion that his could be considered cheating, but he didn't care. Duo was outright chugging his beer. Finally, Wufei dropped his bottle to the table, empty, and Quatre did the same, and each pilot lowered the bottles from their mouths. Heero glanced at Trowa, who also had beer left in the bottle. He'd been cheating too, Heero decided.

"Uh guys, I don't feel so well," Quatre said, leaning back in his chair and laying his hands over his stomach. Heero arched an eyebrow and stared at the blonde pilot. His face had a slight green tinge to it. Heero considered his own body for a moment, noting that his extremities felt numb, and his face was buzzing. When he blinked, he noticed that it took a little longer for his eyes to adjust than usual. He didn't like that his senses seemed to be impaired either. In particular, the one that should have told him long ago that he shouldn't still be drinking...

"Ugghh," Quatre moaned, leaning forward over his knees.

"Hey Q-man! Don't puke in the kitchen! Go in the bathroom!" Duo said, rising unsteadily from his chair and stepped around the table. "Ah!" he cried when his toe stubbed in the leg of the chair Wufei sat in. Wufei burst into uncharacteristic laughter at Duo's plight. As Duo passed behind Wufei, he gave a sharp tug to Wufei small pony tail.

"Damn it Maxwell!" Wufei shouted, also speaking louder than necessary. Duo laughed and grabbed Quatre's arm and hauled him off the chair and down the hall towards the bathroom. Still rubbing the back of his head, Wufei stood from the table as well and stumbled into the kitchen to grab another beer from the refrigerator. "Anyone else need one?" he asked. Heero and Trowa shook their heads.

Loud retching could be heard from the bathroom, along with cheering from Duo.

"Poor Quatre," Trowa commented. "I'm sure Duo isn't helping either." Trowa rose from the table and walked towards the bathroom. A moment later, Duo bounded back into the dining room.

"Alright! Where did we leave off?" Duo asked, waving a hand wildly to indicate the cards spread all over the table.

"This game is boring," Wufei commented. Duo made a face at Wufei and put his hands on his hips.

"You have a better game then, Wufei?" Duo asked.

"Sure. It's easy. It's where you sit quietly and drink quietly until you pass out," Wufei said. Heero never claimed to be an expert at fun, but he didn't think Wufei's idea sounded anything like what most people considered "fun." Without really thinking about it, Heero finished off his beer and automatically retrieved another from the fridge. His head swam a bit while he walked and it took a moment for him to steady himself as he popped the top off the bottle and dropped back in his chair.

Heero watched as Duo and Wufei continued to bicker at each other. His mind was having trouble understanding what they were talking about, and he could only hear every few words or so. He squinted, trying to follow their conversation, but he failed. He finally gave up and sat back in his chair, letting the sounds around him blend together into incoherent white noise. A few minutes later, Trowa walked back into the kitchen, followed closely by Quatre, who was wiping his mouth with a hand towel.

"Feel better, Quat?" Duo asked, interrupting Wufei's rant.

"A little..." Quatre mumbled. His eyes were still glassy and unfocused. Trowa guided him to the table and sat him down. Quatre crossed his arms over the table and laid his head down while Trowa took down a glass from a cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. He set the glass in front of Quatre and tapped his shoulder.

"You should drink this," he said. Quatre nodded and took a sip, but his face paled and he moaned, then rested his head back on his arms. Trowa sat back down and finished his beer. Heero's head rolled towards Trowa.

"How are you controlling yourself so well?" Heero asked, which pulled a grin across Trowa's face.

"I work in a circus. You don't fit in if you don't binge drink," he said with a slight laugh.

The conversation fell silent for a moment as each pilot, save for Quatre, finished off their current drinks. Wufei broke the silence first.

"I think I'm gonna marry Sally," he slurred. All heads snapped to look at him, except for Quatre, who merely turned his head slowly and peaked at Wufei with one eye.

"You're only eighteen!" Duo protested, slamming his hands down on the table a little too hard, causing all the bottles and glasses to rattle. "Oops."

"I've already been married once..." Wufei commented. Duo scrunched up his nose.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Duo replied.

"I think that's great," Quatre said, his voice muffled by the sleeves of his shirt. Heero stared at his comrade, curious about the decision making process that led him to that conclusion.

"Why?" Heero thought, but when everyone turned to stare at him, he realized he must have spoken aloud. Shit. But Wufei tilted his head to the side and shrugged.

"She'd make an adequate partner. It would be a beneficial arrangement," Wufei replied. Duo snorted and laughed.

"I'm sure Sally would love to hear those reasons!" Duo said through his raucous laughter. "Darling Sally," Duo began, mocking Wufei's voice, "We should get married because it would mean we could be on the same insurance policy and live in the same house, thereby saving money. In addition, I can use your lady parts to create clones of myself for future world domination..." Wufei chucked an empty beer bottle at Duo's head, who surprisingly dodged out of the way in time for the bottle to whiz by and break against the wall. This brought Wufei and Duo into a fit of laughter.

Heero just stared at Wufei, his mind slow to comprehend, and feeling more confused than he was before.

"Is that really why people marry? Relena made it seem like people married for love," Heero questioned, his words slurring out of his mouth, through the influence of alcohol.

"Why are you so interested?" Duo asked. Heero shrugged his shoulders and brought his bottle up to his lips and took a deep drink of the beer. He barely tasted the liquid, his tongue feeling fuzzy and too large for his mouth. And for some reason, his just kept talking, almost like he was vomiting words.

"I just don't understand how someone decides they want to get married," he said. The pilots exchanged glances for a moment before Duo stood up unsteadily from his chair.

"You marry for the sex!" Duo shouted, laughing uproariously at his own comment.

"Marriage is a business arrangement," Wufei said.

"You are supposed to marry for love," Quatre protested.

Trowa shrugged his shoulders. Heero frowned, not understanding. How could they all have different ideas of marriage?

"Sex is not important in marriage," Wufei countered at Duo, who stopped his laughter and gaped at Wufei.

"That's totally not true! No wonder you are so uptight! You need to get laid, my man!"

"Fuck off, Maxwell," Wufei growled.

"People shouldn't have sex unless they are in love," Quatre continued to protest his friends from behind his arms.

"But how do you even know what love is?" Heero asked, his anxiety about the conversation and idea of marriage rising. He also couldn't understand why he kept talking.

No one responded right away. They were all mostly staring at him with their mouths hanging open.

"It's uh..."

"It's kinda like..."

"It's when you feel..."

"..."

Ask any of those pilots about the inner workings of a Gundam, and they could explain it in detail. But when faced with questions of love and life, Heero was surprised to find that they were all as stumped as he was.

"Noine and Zechs love each other," Quatre said, lifting his heads from his arms. Heero thought about this, trying to remember times when the two of them had interacted with each other. He recalled the long hug he witnessed between the two of them in Lady Une's office at the Preveneter's headquarters after the Eve War of A.C. 196. Was that love?

"That doesn't count. You'd have to be crazy to love a Peacecraft," Duo commented as he leaned his chair onto the back two legs, letting the back of the chair rest against the wall. Quatre looked at Duo indignantly. "What?"

Heero frowned. Crazy to love a Peacecraft? Heero wondered, "Does that make me crazy?" He groaned and covered his face with his hands when he realized he'd spoken out loud, again.

"You love a Peacecraft?" Duo asked eagerly, staring Heero down.

"Don't listen to him. Duo is being insensitive," Quatre said, waving his hand dismissively in Duo's direction.

"Maybe tolerant and patient to love a Peacecraft. Not crazy," Trowa interjected. Heero glanced at him, noticing that the mostly silent pilot was looking composed, contrary to the number of empty beer bottles clustered in front of him. Heero in that moment envied Trowa's ability to keep his mouth shut under the influence.

"So you finally figured out that you have feelings for her?" Duo asked.

"Do you love Miss Relena?" Quatre asked. Heero was overwhelmed by the questions. To avoid answering, he rose from the chair once again and looked around the kitchen for something else to drink. Through his clouded vision, he could only find one more bottle of vodka on the counter. He grabbed it, twisted off the top and took a swig. The pilots were all staring at him, waiting for an answer. Even Wufei looked mildly intrigued.

"I..." Heero literally had no idea what to say. His mind was completely blank. The only thing that was registering in his mind was the buzzing sound of the bare light bulb above the table.

"Well?" Duo asked. Wufei 'harrumphed' and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If Yuy has fallen for the girl, there's no hope for the rest of us." Wufei twisted his face into a scowl.

"But you have fallen for Sally," Quatre reminded him. Wufei shook his head vigorously.

"I have accepted that there are certain benefits to being married verus being single, and Sally is the only female I can tolerate for long periods of time," Wufei countered.

"I like Hilde a lot. She laughs at my jokes. Does that count as love?" Duo asked, his face slightly more serious than usual.

"I enjoy Miss Dorothy's company," Quatre offered.

Eyes turned back to Heero, who listened to these admissions with a look that was either extreme concentration or extreme confusion.

"Catherine told me once that when she was in love with someone, she felt happy whenever she thought about that person. She said that when you love someone, you focus on the positives about that person and don't mind the negatives," Trowa said. The pilots fell silent, considering this new information.

"I don't think Relena has any negatives," Heero admitted. Quatre looked at Heero, his face lit up with a smile.

"You must really like her then!" he said.

"Every woman has negatives," Wufei grumbled. Duo kicked Wufei beneath the table.

"Shut up!" Duo shouted with a glare, then turned his attention back to Heero. "I think about Hilde a lot when she's not around."

"I think about Relena a lot," Heero admitted, resigning himself to this automatic talking his mind seemed to be doing, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the repercussions in the morning.

"Have you said anything to her about this?" Trowa asked. Heero shook his head. He took another swig of the vodka.

"She hasn't seen me in two years," Heero confessed, though something told him the other pilots already knew what he'd been up to lately.

"But you've seen her?" Duo asked, an eyebrow raised, smiling a Duo-ish knowing smile. Heero nodded sheepishly. "Buddy, you need to get on that or someone else will snatch her up!" The others nodded in agreement, except for Wufei, who was still frowning at the whole conversation. He reached across the table and pulled the bottle of vodka towards him and took a drink.

Heero crossed his arms over his chest, feeling infinitely stupid for voicing the thoughts that have bouncing around his mind for a while now. He knew that time was ticking away from him to tell Relena how he felt about her, but whenever he thought about it, it made him feel sick to his stomach. Or maybe that was just the alcohol...

Heero must have zoned out for longer than he thought, because he suddenly became aware of Quatre speaking to someone on a phone. Duo was leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, while Trowa was absently shuffling the deck of cards on the table and Wufei was still taking drinks from the vodka bottle.

"Do you love me?" Quatre was asking into the phone. Heero stared at Quatre, and could hear a female voice on the other end, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Dorothy. Heero tried to recall what Duo had referred to calling someone while intoxicated as... drunk dialing?

"We were talking about love, and I wanted to know what you thought about it," Quatre slurred. "Well that's good to know..." He paused and was listening. "Yeah, he's here." Quatre glanced almost imperceptibly at Heero, but Heero, even though his blood alcohol content was high, still caught the quick glance. Quatre was talking about him with Dorothy. "Really? I'll tell him!" Quatre was excited about something, and Heero had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "See you soon. Bye!" Quatre ended the call and looked to Heero, who looked away.

"Heero!" Quatre shouted, then clamped his hands over his mouth, realizing that he was talking really loud. "Heero," he said again, this time in a low whisper. Heero turned reluctantly to face Quatre and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Relena is on this colony right now!" Quatre said, continuing to whisper. Heero nodded, having figured that Dorothy had told Quatre something of the sort, though of course Heero already knew where Relena was staying for a conference on the colony. He was beginning to really regret even showing up at Duo's house for this "guy drinking night" thing. All he managed to do so far was make himself feel numb and fuzzy and talk way too much about things he'd rather have kept inside.

"Dude, you should go talk to her tonight and tell her how you feel!" Duo said. Heero knew this idea would come from Duo. And to Heero's sluggish mind, it sort of seemed like a good idea. Sort of.

"I don't think she'd want me showing up at her hotel uninvited," Heero said, his hands clenching in his lap. He felt angry as he said it, knowing it could possibly be true, but deep, deep down hoping that she'd like to see him. His fears were alleviated.

"She's waiting for you," Wufei blurted out after taking another drink from the vodka bottle. It was now half empty. Eyes snapped to the Chinese man, who blushed red from his hairline to his chin and looked away. "Oops."

"How do you know that?" Trowa asked when Heero chose to keep his mouth clamped shut around his loose tongue. Wufei shrugged.

"I hear things around the Preventers office. Noine and Sally gossip together far too often for their own good, and I end up hearing about everything they talk about," Wufei explained. "It's is rather annoying, actually," he added in a mutter.

Gazes shifted back to Heero, and he tried to remain still under their expectant looks. "What?" he asked finally after several moments of silence.

"Well? Are you going to sweep her off her feet or not?" Duo asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't..." Quatre cut Heero off by jumping out of his chair and taking the vodka bottle from Wufei and thrusting it in Heero's face.

"You just need more.. what do they call it? Liquid courage!" he said. Heero looked up at Quatre, and noticed that his eyes were still glassy with the effects of alcohol. Heero was about to protest when Duo rose up as well, cheering him on.

"Come on man! This could be the chance you get to come out of the shadows! Literally!" Once again, hysterical laughter from Duo. Heero looked desperately at Trowa, who shrugged.

"Follow your emotions," Trowa reminded him. Heero slumped in his chair, but Duo and Quatre were still shouting encouragements at him. Perhaps he should go talk to her. At least his stubbornness that he knew he possessed would be out of the way. Heero looked around at the other pilots. Duo and Quatre had fallen silent, staring at him, along with Wufei and Trowa. Heero sighed.

"Fine, I'll go," he said.

Heero of course knew the quickest route to the hotel from Duo's place. As he walked along down the sidewalk, occasionally stumbling over his own feet, he practiced what he'd say to Relena when he saw her. Some things he spoke out loud to himself sounded so stupid, while other things didn't seem that bad. The manufactured coolness of the air in the colony helped him clear his foggy mind.

"Should I start out strong or ease into the conversation?" he asked himself, making a turn down another block, steadily getting closer to the hotel. "I hope I don't scare her away," he added. Heero looked up, his head falling back further than necessary. For some reason, his head felt so heavy. It was a strange experience, as most of the time, during combat and while piloting the Gundam, he always felt light and agile. Now, he felt sluggish and heavy, like every step was a lot of effort. "Alcohol or nerves?" he asked himself.

He spotted the rooftop of the hotel over some nearby buildings. Heero made another turn and crossed an empty road. As he was crossing, he saw three figures walking down from the other direction towards the hotel lobby doors. Heero squinted to make out who it could possibly be. For safety reasons, Heero and the others had locked up their firearms before starting their drinking binge, so he was unarmed. His hand strayed to his lower back where he usually kept the weapon, though he of course would not find anything there.

The three figured passed through the light of a streetlamp, and Heero instantly recognized one of the people. It was Relena, walking with a to-go cup of coffee in her hand. She wore her light jacket that brushed her knees, and she appeared to be wearing jeans and a pair of low boots. Beside her walked another woman, who Heero had to remind himself was her new assistant. Behind them, following closely, was a uniformed Preventer agent. Relena's bodyguard. The two women were talking to each other and laughing, the sound bouncing around the silent, dark buildings along the street. Heero quickened his pace to catch up with them. The sound of his footsteps on the concrete alerted the bodyguard, who stepped in front of the two women and drew his gun from his jacket.

Heero lifted his arms up, palms open, to show he was unarmed. The agent lowered his gun, and Heero saw Relena peer over the man's shoulder.

"Heero?" she called out, stepping around the guard.

"Miss Darlian!" the guard called, rushing after her. Relena jogged across the street towards Heero, being careful not to spill her hot coffee on her hands. Heero attempted a smile as she approached, but he didn't think he made it. His stomach was churning unpleasantly.

"Heero, what are you doing out here, for goodness sake?" she asked, stopping a few feet away from him. Heero opened his mouth to speak, but before the words he'd been practicing came out, Heero's binge drinking came back up on the road. Relena shrieked in surprise and stepped back, dodging vomit as Heero doubled over, bracing his hands against his knees.

"Oh no..." the other woman said. Relena turned to her and thrust the coffee cup towards her.

"Hold this, please," Relena said, then stepped up to Heero. She reached to him, and placed one hand on his back. Heero coughed once, and his head swam. His mouth tasted like bile and there was an irritating nagging in mind that he couldn't seem to comprehend. He moaned.

"Oh my goodness, Heero. Come on," Relena said in his ear. She lifted his arm around her neck and stood up straight. Heero leaned on her slightly, not wanting to knock her off her feet with his whole weight.

"Relena," he moaned.

"Shh..." she commanded, and led him along the road, her assistant and guard gazing helplessly and confused at the pair. Relena motioned to them with her other hand.

"Can you get the door, please?" she asked. The guard snapped to and rushed to the door of the hotel. He wrenched it open and stepped back to leave room for Relena to help Heero through. She lead him towards the elevator, and the four of them squeezed in. Relena's assistant pressed the button for the fifth floor and slowly, the elevator began to rise. The movement caused Heero's stomach to lurch unpleasantly, and he let out another moan. Relena rubbed his back once more.

"We're almost there," she said soothingly. The elevator grunted to a stop and the silver doors slid open. Heero felt Relena's hands against him, pushing him forward and out of the elevator. His stomach was churning again, and he didn't know how long he could hold back the urge to vomit once more. He closed his eyes and trusted Relena to lead him along. He heard her speaking in low tones to the other two, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. They continued on down the hall, and they stopped. Heero opened his eyes slightly and saw that they were standing in front of a door, and he could see the garish carpet under his feet. To his dismay, he also noted a few specks of vomit on his shoes. There was a small click noise, and a louder click as Relena pushed open the door.

Heero lifted his head up. He could see her suitcase on the bed, mostly exploded over with clothes. Her computer was on the desk, surrounded by papers. But Relena led him into the bathroom. The white light filled the room, and Heero closed his eyes. Relena gently eased him to the floor beside the toilet, then perched on the edge of the bathtub. Heero looked up at her, and to his surprise, saw her smiling. As Heero relaxed, the next wave of sickness forced its way out, and he threw himself at the toilet. A hand pressed against his forehead and brushed his hair away. The coolness of her hands was soothing to his brow.

"I thought you didn't drink, Heero," Relena said from beside him. Heero leaned his forehead down and mumbled,

"Maxwell..."

"Ah," Relena replied. She continued to rub his back in a soothing motion while Heero maintained his position against the toilet. His stomach began to settle, and his vision cleared a little. He felt Relena stand up, and he turned his head to watch. She picked up a small cup from the counter and filled it with water from the bathroom sink. Handing it down to him, she lowered herself back onto the edge of the bathtub.

"Drink," she commanded. Heero closed his fingers around the cup and took a small sip. The water tasted like ash in his mouth, but he forced it down. Relena immediately refilled the cup and handed it back to him. He drank the water quickly, then turned back to the toilet, thinking he was going to vomit again, but he simply dry heaved. His abdomen was beginning to ache from the effort of puking his brains out.

"Relena..." Heero said, scooting back from the toilet and leaning against the wall. Relena looked at him, a mixture of sympathy and humor in her eyes. She was leaning her elbows against her knees and propping her chin up with her hands.

"Yes Heero?" she asked.

"I came here to..." he trailed off, completely at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then hung his head. "Nevermind."

"Why don't you take a shower? It'll make you feel better," Relena said. She leaned into the bathtub and turned on the water and adjusted for temperature. She rose and held her hands out to Heero, who took them and rose to his feet with her help. "I'll be out there when you're done, and maybe we can talk then, okay?" Heero nodded, and she let go of him and disappeared from the bathroom. Heero took off his jeans and t-shirt, noticing that both of them had his own vomit on them. Groaning, he tugged off his boxers and stepped into the bathtub. With a quick turn of the handle, the water sprayed from the showerhead above him, soaking his hair and skin. He stood there for several minutes, just letting the water wash over him. Finally, he picked up a bar of soap and used it to wash the stench of alcohol off of his skin.

To his surprise, he did start to feel a little better. His vision cleared slightly and the world stopped spinning. He stood a little longer, and it was only when he almost fell asleep, causing him to slip forward and nearly crashed his head against the wall, did he shut off the water and step out. He found an unused towel and dried off, then toss his dirty clothes into the tub. He pulled his boxers on and used one of the bathrobes on the back of the door.

When he stepped from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, he saw Relena had changed into a pair of loose pajama pants and a tank top. Her hair was wrapped around into a bun on top of her head, and she was sitting at her desk, drinking her coffee and working on her laptop. She looked up when she saw him and smiled.

"Feel better?" she asked. Heero stepped around her clothing on the floor and nodded as he dropped down onto the queen sized bed. Relena giggled and moved her suitcase off the bed and shoved her clothes out of the way.

"Relena..." Heero said after throwing his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

"Yes, sweetheart?" she asked, her voice distant and distracted as she hovered over her laptop.

"I left my clothes in the bathtub," he said. He heard Relena laugh at him once again. With a sharp click, Relena shut her laptop, turned on a lamp beside the bed and shut off the main light in the room. Heero removed his arm from over his face and pulled a pillow towards him and stuffed it under his head. Through his haze, he watched Relena pick up a cell phone, dial a number and hold the phone to her ear.

"Hi Duo, its Relena," she said. "Yeah, I've got him here with me. I just didn't want you to worry." Heero could Duo yelling on the other side of the line, and Relena held the phone away from her ear, smiling. "No problem. Good night, Duo," she said, then hung up her phone and tossed it back on her desk. She sat down beside Heero on the bed.

"Relena..."

"Yes?" she reached out to him and laid a hand over his. Heero absently twined his fingers through hers.

"I just wanted to tell you that..." he trailed off, trying to remember what he had wanted to tell her. Relena tilted her head to the side, watching him with an amused expression.

"Go on, Heero," Relena said.

"I just... I just wanted to say that.. well... that I think I love you," he finally said. He immediately felt stupid and closed his eyes. Relena made a soft noise beside him. He pictured himself turning towards her and seeing the expression on her face, but when he opened his eyes again, he realized he was still lying in the same position. His eyelids slid closed eyes and soon, he was drifting off to sleep.

"Oh Heero, I wish I believed you..." she said beside him before pulling a blanket up over him.

When Heero opened his eyes again, he nearly fell out of bed with surprise. He was lying in a hotel room, and Relena was lying beside him, still asleep, curled up on her side facing him, one arm outstretched as if she was reaching for him. Heero took a deep breath as he tried to remember what had happened the night before. Clearly he'd shown up at Relena's hotel room, but why? Heero closed his eyes again and tried to remember. But all he could remember was alcohol.

He rose from the bed as quietly as he could, realizing that he wore only his boxers and the fuzzy bathrobe. He stepped lightly to the bathroom and found his clothes in the bathtub. Heero groaned when he saw the puke all down the front of his shirt and pants. He slapped his forehead and dropped his clothes back in the tub. He faced the mirror and saw how horrible he looked, dark circles under his eyes, drool dried to one side of his mouth... he splashed water on his face and scrubbed hard.

Still feeling dizzy and unsteady, Heero made his way out into the main room. From the desk, he heard the buzzing of a cell phone. Curious, Heero stepped to the desk and casually glanced at the phone. It was a text message from Duo. Heero snatched up the phone and read the message: Relena! Did Heero tell you he loves you yet?

Heero sighed and put the phone down. Slowly the memory came crawling back, how his supposed friends had talked him into finding Relena and telling her the truth about his feelings. Had he? The night was still a blur.

He moved back to the bed and lowered himself down, trying not to disturb Relena. No such luck. She moved a bit, pulling her arm towards her and rubbing her eyes. Slowly, they opened and focused on Heero lying on the bed beside her. She smiled.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," Heero replied. He turned slightly, pulling the blanket up over him. Relena tucked her hands under the pillow, still watching him, and Heero was overwhelmed for a moment of just how... adorable... she was. "Relena..."

"It's alright Heero," she said, cutting him off. "I know that you were greatly intoxicated last night and anything you said probably was just the alcohol talking." Heero notice that her face looked a little sad.

"That's not what I was going to say..." Heero said, reaching towards her. He wondered idly as he pulled her closer to him, if he was still drunk, or if, now that he was lying half naked on her bed in her hotel room, that his subconscious was screaming ''Just tell her!' Or perhaps he had already made a big enough ass of himself that one more admission couldn't hurt his chances much more. He chose the latter.

Relena pulled her pillow closer and laid her head back down, their faces only inches apart.

"Did I tell you that I loved you, last night?" he asked. Relena's lips pressed into a line and she nodded. "And I was drunk, you're right," he said. "I meant it though," he added quietly. Relena's eyes widened slightly as she stared at him, her blue eyes shining in the morning light filtering through the curtains. Or were those tears?

"Really, Heero?" she asked. Heero reached out to her once more, his arms snaking around her waist. In one tug, he pulled the girl on top of his chest. She squealed in surprise, and braced herself against his chest with her forearms. She looked more surprised than ever.

"Yes, Relena," he said. "It took a bunch of asshole friends to make me realize it, too." He grinned up at her, and she laughed. "I'm sorry I was also an asshole." Relena shook her head, still laughing.

"Heero..." she said, locking eyes with him again. She lowered her face closer to him, only two inches from his lips. "I want to kiss you, but you have puke breath," she said. The two dissolved into uncharacteristic laughter, and Relena rolled off of his chest. "Oh, and Heero," she said, grabbing his wrist before he could retreat to the bathroom to wash the puke breath away, "I love you, too."

THE END!


End file.
